- Joined
- Apr 25, 2006
- Messages
- 18,404
Increase the peace
'... You will ... be led forth in peace ...' Isaiah 55:12
There's always one isn't there? Mr. Cool who's totally chillaxed about the forthcoming all-important exam, boasting about how he's not done a single bit of revision because, 'Hey, who cares, they're just stupid exams, right?' Well Mr. Chillax has based his 'peace' on total delusion. And when he's still poking out the holes in Polos for a living, aged 95, perhaps he'll wish he took life more seriously. What about us? Is our peace based on nothing; are we deluded? Jesus said, 'I'm leaving you well and whole. That's my parting gift to you.
Peace. I don't leave you the way you're used to being left- feeling abandoned, bereft. So don't be upset. Don't be distraught' (John 14:27 TM).
When we seem to be in way over our head, Jesus assures us that He's there with us. Peace comes from knowing God has it all in hand. When we turn our head to what God can do, rather than focus on the problem we get a 'peace of God, which transcends all understanding' (Philippians 4:7 NIV).
It's easy to be at peace when everything is going your way, but what about when the maths doesn't add up; when the world is giving you a headache? Peace is not an absence of trouble; it's assurance in the trouble. Peace is why Paul, despite being locked in jail, could write: 'Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything' (Philippians 4:6).
written by Bob Gass
